"We are Thieves, we are Knights, we are Pillagers, we are Protectors. We are the Cartel."

We are the Ashenfold Cartel. We do not align ourselves with any nation or guild - we seek to survive the onslaught of the Dragons while bettering ourselves in turn. All may join the Cartell; all may earn protection and respect within the Ashenfold...

Contacts: Shadowedsin, Toxa Vanschiver, PeriasGift

How we are known depends on where you stand...

There are many guilds within Tyria, so many that few would ever care to glance at their dealings. To the Law-Abiding Citizen there is simply the Trade Union or the Union, an enigmatic investment firm said to be located in both Divinity’s Reach and Hoelbrak. From their carefully placed investments the Union runs three companies each focusing on a particular object and purpose for their employers. To the Criminal there is the Cartel, an esoteric syndicate that moves throughout Tyria seeking to play the game of thrones and push things in its favor. What both sides to not understand is that this is simply the Ashenfold.

To Those Who Know Too Much the Cartel is a Society said to follow the motto of “Survive, Adapt, Prosper”. A simple code emblazoned on their lips as they aim to not only survive the Elder Dragons, but take what they can and turn it in their favor. Members of the Cartel may be villains, heroes, savants or simply soldiers. What unites them all is the notion of survival and the prosperity that comes in adapting to times haunted by Dragons.

General FAQ

What is the Ashenfold Cartel?The Ashenfold Cartel is a roleplaying guild and community founded with the intent to roleplay on Guild Wars 2.

What does the Ashenfold name mean?Ashenfold, as a name, was chosen with the word “ashen” to refer to the color gray’s neutral stance. The word “fold” was chosen to mean members within the Cartel are “all inclusive”. We chose the word “Cartel”, meaning a formal agreement between competing firms to emphasize the guilds internal conflict and changin storyline.

What type of Rp guild are you?We classify ourselves as a community roleplaying guild, a living and breathing in-character community. We require a level of in-character reaction to what you do in game as a means to facilitate random occurrences of Rp.

How are you structured?Our guild has an active OOC Structure and a separate IC Structure. This means that a player no matter what rank they are within the guild OOC hierarchy they always have a chance through dedication and good Rp to see their character rise to power. Now include the possibility of several different players and their characters gaming for the throne and you have the basis of what we call Dynamic Roleplay.

For this reason we also maintain a separate OOC Structure which represents the management of our community. Unlike other guilds where the Guild Leader and Officers hold power, the Officers of Ashenfold are a voluntary staff chosen to run and administer the community.

What is “Dynamic Roleplay”?Dynamic Roleplay is Roleplay based upon the simple concept of action equating to consequence. For every action committed within the Ashenfold there is an equal and opposite reaction. Someone rises to power within the Cartel and through their actions carves out a name for themselves. At the same time they might end up alienating everyone and lose power. The result of their actions is completely up in the air as players are encourage to challenge fate and shape the guild through their decisions.

How do you plan to accomplish this?We will accomplish dynamic change and evolution through the pusage of player driven leadership In Character and by carefully monitored Game Master storyline events. See event questions for more information.

Are you beginner friendly?Yes, very. Our guild has its own Character Creation Guide and writes several blog entries about Roleplay. We do not reject people from our community and we try our best to help people increase their skill in Roleplay.

We also publish several guides on the subject of roleplay and lore to help newcomers get use to the world of Guild Wars 2.

Why do you have an age limit?We require a base age of seventeen years or older, because of possible violence and content that might occur in our roleplay. We are not a cyber guild, but we do have elements you would find in an R-rated movie. You may see a lone hero take a beating or a simple villager assassinating a villain. Because of this we require the same base age cinema theaters require for seeing an R-rated movie.

How important is PvP and PvE to you?Because of the dynamic nature of Guild Wars 2 and the systems built into it, we plan to use PvP (sPvP and WvW) and PvE as a means of enhancing the Roleplay experience. Not only do we wish for an existing presence in World Versus World, we hope to excel in both fields competitively. See event questions for more information.

What is your guild’s home-server?Our home-server is currently Tarnished Coast. With Stormbluff Isle as our chosen overflow server.

Your guild seems pretty big, won’t I get lost in the crowd?No, our guild is centered around member voice and player driven storyline. For this reason, although our population is quite large, we actively do our best to include all members who are willing to participate in events or just play with other members. Our guild is very friendly and we don’t limit you for two weeks before you can get into the Roleplay.[/spoiler]

General Information

The Ashenfold was founded as a neutral organization that would hold no alignment except for that created by the membership through their actions alone. For the past two years we have continued to not only iterate our own ideas, but create a guild where members have a full say and can truly shape the In Character destiny of the Cartel itself! We are a community of roleplayers who seek to create and perpetuate dynamic Rp in the Guild Wars Universe in the spirit of Guild Wars 2.

Our Stance on Rp Styles

We welcome all styles and forms of character in the RP spectrum. Instead of lashing people to a singular guild storyline we encourage an organic evolution of story through action and reaction. Magically inclined roleplayers, Game of Thrones fans, adventurers, mercs and all the like find a home in the Cartel.

Guild Features

Separate OOC and IC Structure - Our IC and OOC guild structure is entirely separate meaning you as a player can become the IC leader of your own faction if your character can play the game of thrones!

Player Driven and Player Designed - Entrench yourself or ignore the politics of the Cartel as you have a direct choice via democratic voting to decide the leadership of the Grandmaster (Cartel's IC leader). Us player driven factions called Societies to change the Cartel's laws and structure!

RP Hubs and Businesses - Work in the upscale Social Club and Spa, or as criminal in the Gambling Den. Either being completely separate meaning Good, Evil and all in between can exist in the same guild!.

Stability and Dedicated Staff - Ashenfold has existed since 2009 and was founded for GW2!

Dynamic Rp and Roles - Ashenfold evolves with each choice of the members, and with our Role System you can define your character how you want! Want to be a bartender go for it? A merc awesome! An evil scientist mastermind, bring them on in! Through our diverse cast we tell fantastic stories and see our world evolve!

Large but tight Knit - Our community is diverse and large, but we haven't lost that small guild feel! Everyone is welcomed right away, given a seat in our community and welcomed like an old friend!

General Requirements:

Applicants must be 17 years or older. Exemptions are granted upon request and thorough consideration (our about page covers this).

Mature individuals who can abide our guild rules and accept the consequences of their actions in Rp.

We are an ESL friendly guild, we just ask that people have grasp of the basics of English Grammar and Spelling.

With the March Update we introduce new lore including the Controller Allegiance of the Lore! Our business system is now fully in swing allowing for the creation of hub supporting RP which we aspire too! Finally we are moving towards synchronizing with our wiki as we introduce the new Unified biography!

Our forum themes and front site theme have changed! We've adopted a cleaner more professional look to make the site more accessible The forums can now be found @ http:// http:///forums.ashenfold.com.

On a slightly different note our next Lore and Content update will include the follow:
-New Lore about the Sects
-The official dictionary of the Ashen Cipher Language
-Updated Hooks and information for new members.
-New NPCs profiles
-New Human Lore 101 Blog!
-Much more

Our events officer is also planning a new series of workshops for those interested in expanding their knowledge of GW2 Lore and Rping in the universe of Guild Wars. More information on that can be found on our events page @ http://ashenfold.com/?page_id=185.

We have just complete our Easter Update which is in part celebration of 2.5 years of Ashenfold's community!

The new update focuses on providing more meat to our guild's background. At the same time we have focused on streamlining and making our guild more accessible. This includes more explanation on how characters can fit into the guild, a select of helpful guides to help, and we have also updated our FAQ to reflect the guild's information more clearly.

We are planning to be quite active and to participate in the April 20th Beta and we will soon be launching our own independent mumble server for members to use (not required, simply to help coordinate dungeons and PvP).

We will have another new blog entry sometime in the coming weeks on the ethnicites of Humanity.

Our Events for roleplay have been quite active as we run three of them weekly. We are also a large scale Beta Event to have fun in on the last day of Beta so if you are interested in joining us you may want to attend!

Information on our events can be found at on our Events Calendar. Please note that while it is in Pacific Standard Time that we post all of our major events on our Events Page with all other timezones noted.

Ashenfold is happy to offer two events this beta weekend interested in those wish to explore Guild Wars 2 and what it has to offer for the Rp community!

No Rper Left Behind!In response to the event being sponsored by Team Legacy and Talesof Tyria Ashenfold is opening its mumble servers for the April beta Weekend! We are calling this event "No Rper left Behind" to signify the inspiration by the "No Fan left Behind" event. However, our event will focus on exploring the game not only from a PvE, and PvP perspective, but also that of a roleplayer. For this reason we are not only opening our mumble servers to our allies, but also all of those interested in investigating the game and wish to learn more about it!

During the weekend our mumble server will be active 24/7, and anyone wishing to join us is free to join at their leisure! We only ask that you refrain from offensive or violent language and try not to disrupt any discussion going on during the beta. Information about our server can be found here.

This event will start one hour before the beta weekend begins so we have time to deal with any technical issues that might arise!

The Aekart Foundation Banquet
-Written upon a poster found all over Divinity's Reach and

Dear Sirs and Madams,

You are cordially invited to an open air banquet being sponsored by the Aekart Family Foundation in the central plaza. There will be drinks and free food to all comers! A time of dancing and merrymaking to be had. Just make sure to tell the bouncers the word "Aekart" and you will be free to join us!

Pre-Beta Update!
This is the big update before the June beta next weekend and we have a few things to let everyone know about!

First we have released the newest edition of the Ashen Word, our guild newsletter which can be found here.

Seeing Ashenfold in the Beta
If you are on Tarnish Coast and you see the [AC] Tag feel free to join up with us or send one of us a PM. We'll be out in force Rping and tearing the game up as we hope to understand all the changes Anet has introduced since the first BWE.

Ashenfold Events
We are throwing 2 events this weekend check them out:

Quote

NO RPER LEFT BEHIND!As a response to the original event being sponsored by Team Legacy and Tales of Tyria Ashenfold is once again opening our mumble servers to all those interested in RP, or Rpers seeking to just chill out and have fun on the beta. This is our way of reaching out to the community and offering a service to every Rper who want's to just discuss lore or the game in general

Lore Discussions!
New to Tyria, feel free to ask any of our local Lore hounds and get a full preview of the vast history of the world we hope to Rp in!

RP Events
Members of Ashenfold and our friends in the Rp community will be actively Rping throughout the entire weekend. Feel free to jump on our mumble and come tell a story with us!

Joining the Server
During the weekend our mumble server will be active 24/7, and anyone wishing to join us is free to join at their leisure! You can download the client for mumble at this link and access the information to join our server at our Chat and Mumble information thread.

This event will start one hour before the beta weekend begins so we have time to deal with any technical issues that might arise!

Ales and Ballads!
-A message plastered on a poster with an ale mug plastered on posts from Lion's Arch to Divinity's Reach states-

JOIN US ALL FOR A BAWDY NIGHT!

Adventurers, smiths and ladies (and gentlement) come one and all to the Maiden's Whisper in Rurikton! For we, the Archer's Bath Service along with the Baron's Pride Service have set up a night of drinking and fun music for all comers! Got a good story to tell, well come tell it. Want to go wenching, we have the wenches!

This will be an event for fun and revelry. Hard drink will be served and music will be played. If you be charr, norn, asura or planty Sylvari, all are welcome to our fine even of debauchery.

Hey guys, this is our official MID JUNE update, and one that was a bit unexpected. We added this update after a thorough review of the guild. After speaking with many members and consulting with the Officer team I have implemented a few changes.

Accesibility and Removing Intimidation
Many of you guys love our lore, plain and simple, the issue here is snot everyone wants to read that much lore at once. For this reason we have wrangled and discussed in the Officer Team and I have come up with the follow solutions.

Rules Update
The Guild Policy or the Ruleset has been updated with clear defintions and new rules dealing with communication in public channels.

We highly suggest you read it and re-familiarize yourselves with it, the new ruleset can be found here.

The Wiki We Go!
Everything in the Expanded Lore forum has been moved to the Ashenfold Wiki, this has been done to remove the large stack of lore that once dwelt on our forum. This also means we have a much cleaner organized set of categories to find everything. What this has let us do is then move a few more things around so that it is clearer what needs to be read and what is therefor for fluff.

We also cleaned up the front page a bit so that things are clearer and links are there. Finally we have added a nice Quick Guide to Join so people aren't confused any longer about the application process

Legality, Sect Animosity and Rituals
A while back we had a thread about Sect Identification which was a huge eye opener! After that and the following Possible Content changes thread a lot was learned. From this we began a slew of changes sthat we hope will shake things up bit.

First, the Five Sects are and Secrets of the Cartel are gone. Yup, gone! Secrets of the Cartel is now a expanded read that details a bit more about the level of discovery one can find as they rank up in the Cartel itself!

Krews and Troupes
These are what some might call Squads and Brigades (all Sects have their own Ashic term for them. These are basically groupings of Cartelites witha Krew being a regional population and a Troupe being a group of 2-5. These we hope will create internal competition and the ability for people to form power blocs that require constant diplomacy to maintain (as it should be).

A thread dedicated to noting your troupes as they form will be posted in the future, so stay alert for the future email with links to said thread!

Legality and Public Face
The Cartel is now called the Ashenfold Cartel publicly and please note this is a "pet name" used by some eccentric noble. Why did we do this? Well we wanted to make it so that people who may leave the guild can still Rp with us and this way now we can say that the big evil Cartel is nothing more than some myth dreamed up by someone.

The new Legality system creates two different viewpoints for the Cartel on the public and Low Tier 3 / Initiate level. One side is the legal point of view and the other is the illegal. With the new Secrets article these areas blend as one ranks up or seeks to discover more. We hope this will provide a much more immersive and enhanced Rp experience as we get into game.

Sect Entry UpdatesThe Sect Entires have all moved onto the wiki, and they include new information. Each entry now includes a more extensive set of links at the top to all worthy sect info (including the origins) and a comprehensive look at the sects business, standings (indepth with more awesome stuff). The idea here is that the information such as holdings, the current dynamics and alignment with other sects will change over time to reflect how the Sects feel towards each other.

Allegiances and Rituals
As per request there is now a article on Sect Rites and Rituals which includes information on the Initiation Rites for each sect, a Title gainng Challenge and a honor game of sorts. The new Allegiances article on the other hand has all that good internal information many of you like. This includes the History of each Allegiance, their Culture and their Business.

We have also updated the Initiation Guide to include information about the final step in joining the Cartel including the new position known as the Contact.

Podcast!
A while back we began a poll asking if people wished to revive the idea of having a guild podcast. After the poll showed interest in the idea our local IA Officer, Alexandus, began recruiting people for th idea and teamed up with GentlemenOfLeisure. The two are now hosting a new podcast which will be hosted on our Youtube Channel

Our newest issue of the Ashen Word is out! The issue itself can be found here.

Welcome to all of our new members for the past few weeks and can't wait to game with you guys in game!

On that note we're currently doing some site renovations to add a few features while also streamlining things. This is a great time to join the guild as we will be launching the final part of our dynamic summer plotline, Night of the Falling Ax. So if you want to start off by carving your name in Cartel history this is the time to get in on the action!

Ashenfold has had a lot going on this summer and with release almost only a month away we've gearing up to have fun in the last beta! Our new update includes the following changed and new content:

The Tracker role has been split into the Ruffian (Hunt Assassin of the Jade Ring) and the Tracker (Big game hunter of Svartholm) roles respectively.

The Scout role is now only delivery and courier work as the Guide role now focuses on adventuring and leading expeditions.

We have added the Hireling role line as a means for people to more effectively Rp those who simply work for Cartel businesses, an angle of Rp we hope will ope up awesome new avenues of story!

Our guild has also added a new Episode on a new Podcast segment we're calling AshenMythos! That can be found here. Please note that AshenCast is our RP centric podcast and AshenMythos is specifically aimed at the guild discuss itself as an entity

The recording of Episode 3 of AshenCast is in the works!

Ashenfold July Beta Experience!
As per the last two beta weekends Ashenfold will be throwing a series of events open to the community so we can learn more about the game we wish to Rp in! Check out more on our Experience Thread.

NO RPER LEFT BEHIND!As a response to the original event being sponsored by Team Legacy and Tales of Tyria Ashenfold is once again opening our mumble servers to all those interested in RP, or Rpers seeking to just chill out and have fun on the beta. This is our way of reaching out to the community and offering a service to every Rper who want's to just discuss lore or the game in general

Lore Discussions!
New to Tyria, feel free to ask any of our local Lore hounds and get a full preview of the vast history of the world we hope to Rp in!

RP Events
Members of Ashenfold and our friends in the Rp community will be actively Rping throughout the entire weekend. Feel free to jump on our mumble and come tell a story with us!

Joining the Server
During the weekend our mumble server will be active 24/7, and anyone wishing to join us is free to join at their leisure! You can download the client for mumble at this link and access the information to join our server at our Chat and Mumble information thread.

This event will start one hour before the beta weekend begins so we have time to deal with any technical issues that might arise!

Acquiring New Tastes
This is a weekend long event being spearheaded by Ashenfold Officers Ekuman, Fraser, and Ouroboros (Michael).

"The whole things mission is to find fun RP locales in these areas, level our characters (it is impossible not too do it) and have lots of fun. So I ask everyone who plan to be either of those two areas to join Fraser, Michael and me and explore!

To gather everyone I suggest that you try to find the starting area for either asura or sylvari as it is from there we will start. I will playing my asura, Soijj, Michael will play his, Kitt, and Fraser will play Sheavyr, his sylvari. So look out for those names in the Beta and join for fun."
-Ekuman, Events Officer

Look out for members of the Ashenfold Cartel exploring the lands around the Grove, Rata Sum, and Metria Province! We'll be looking for Rp locales and just learning more about the Asura / Sylvari races.

Masquerade of the Docks!
-A message is placed all over -

Lads and Lasses come to the DOCKS!

From the lands of Rata Sum, the Grove, Kryta, Hoelbrak and the Black Citadel join us on the Docks! Sponsored by the Aekart Trade Union! Come race along the fountain at the Piazza and enjoy dancing and singing by local artists. Near the end of the event we will move to the Commodore's Rest nearby for drinks and food.

Hey everyone! Over the past month the staff of the Ashenfold Cartel has worked away at preparing for the upcoming Early Access and Launch.

Our update includes the follow:

An update in our ongoing player driven plot. The Night of the Falling Ax has ended and new players have arrived current update intoned The Old Way.

A new simpler tier system (no more high and low) that makes ranking clearer! Note we have updated the concept of Favor so it is clearer how members can raise their own up through Rp and create new stories!

A redux of our business and legality concepts so you can be a simple worker in a social club, or a secretive member of the society of the Cartel!

Here there everyone! The lands of Ashenfold are a buzz with the excitement of launch! After finishing up the additions of our last big update titled "The Old Way" we have started moving closer to our full launch status as a guild!

So this week we have several interesting and fun updates!

Our two podcasts return this week! The Fourth episode of AshenMythos starts off covering the changes seen in the Old Way update!

Our community centric podcast, AshenCast returns in the fourth episode with new host, A Gentleman of Leisure, at the helm! This episode features one of the co-leaders of the Keepers of the Phoenix, Deks, and myself! We talk about the last BWE and learn a lot about the inspiration behind the KotP guild!

Our guild has held a quick donation run and we have made the money for our new forum skin! This new theme will go live this next weekend and will unite our wordpress and forums^^

Our guildies have worked away creating art for the guild these include srinnknorei who did a lovely job creating our new sects of the Cartel Flowchart & an image of the Cartel amulets, Morrgaine is creating poser art for the sects article, Kola (who did our guild seal) who is designing emblems for the guild's internal factions. Ashenfold Supports its artists and is glad to have not only physically talented artists but a horde of creative writers!

Our wiki has been updated by Sriin recently (she re-did the look) and it's looking pretty awesome! Check it out here

If you are looking for an active, fun and friendly guild who immersives you in lore and is newbie friendly check us out!

Hey everyone, it's almost here! Ashenfold has been alive and is furious with Rp in our forum, the Ye Olde Dragon as everyone waits in ancitipation for the Headstart and Launch! Over this past weekend, the Cartel has seen a lot of changes as we finish up our preparations for launch.

We have:

Put up a new theme for our website which unifies the aesthetics of our wordpress front page with our forum. This has cut down on load times and has been a hit with the members. Note we accomplished this through member donation and the work was done via member feedback!

We have tightened up the lore so that there are basis for changing Sects, what to expect when betraying the Cartel, and how to return to the Cartel's good graces. All found in the Code of Entente Article.

We have posted our future upcoming weekly events on our events page! So look for public on-going guild events to hit the server weekly in the future!

We have recorded a new episode of the AshenMythos podcast which discuss the Voice Sect and how to fill out an Ashenfodl Character Biography!

Our Wiki is alive and nicely theme as members are adding their characters to it. All of the wonderful work on our wiki was done by our awesome dedicated Veteran member, Sriinknorei!

Our Guild Plot has evolved as the Cartel's enemies gather in secret to strike a treasonous deal that could change the face of the Ashenfold!

Our Allies and Rivals forum is up so if you wish to discuss an alliance or a rivalry with the Ashenfold you can!

With launch only five days away (from this post) we are revving up for a hard played weekend of fun and glory! If you wish to game with the Ashenfold during the weekend feel free to jump on our Mumble Server or just look for the [AC] tag in the various zones we'll be playing in according to our Launch Plan.

The Reformation is here and the guild has undergone significant changes as we adapt to the online envrionment of GW2. We now have three Sects, fewer leaders and more active storyline focusing around rebuilding the guild!

Overall reading has been simplified and everything should be slightly less complicated, but in keeping with the full package that is the Cartel. With this update we introduced:

Three Sects instead of five making it easier to run the guild and also making it so you don't feel alone when looking for RP!

Future expansion including Player Made Societies who can determine the political and ideological course of the Cartel!

A new active RP Hub which is based in Hoelbrak an area of little to no overflow!

The Era of Fools storyline is coming to an epic end which means new stories and new paths to be forged BY members!

We also tossed out Legality and simplified things simply into Criminal knowledge and Law Abiding knowledge!

So much has been going on in the Ashenfold Cartel these last few months and because of that we've been kind of quiet. After a bit of silence it is time to update everyone as to the goings on of the community!

With our last update we slimmed down the Sects from Five to three to make it easier to manage. After this last expansion we focused on making things clearer and cleaning up some confusion that had arose over the past month.

Here is a full list of the updated features:

The expansion includes the full release of the newly founded The Trust Sect which was established in the Aekart Fall short story.

We have updated our In Character Structure to feature the new Grandmaster position. Grandmasters are elected on Quarterly schedule elections which are more fully explained here.

Participate in open ended weekly to monthly player driven events called assignments. Where the outcome and what happens is based on the members themselves! Assignments often Rping out dynamic events, doing community based Rp investigation, missions into the mists, delving into dungeons and much more!

And our new bi-weekly Initiation Events are proving to be a good source to RP people into the guild!

Our Timeline has also been updated with recent events from the past few weeks that have shaped the structure and power players of the Cartel.

Its time for another update from the Ashenfold! Over the past two months since October we have seen a plethora of stories! The Cartel has undergone evolution as our dynamic changing story has seen new powers rise and fall within the Union.

This expansion saw many changes including further streamlining of our role system and the release of our new Dynamic Story System! A new manner of moving and evolving story within the Ashenfold Cartel

Our newest expansion covers the latest:

Council Reps! – The Council of Masters has raised three within the Cartel to rule as representatives! These positions provide dynamic consequences, direction of services and invigorate Rp across the Cartel.

Simplified Society Rules – Our internal player ran factions now have simpler rules of creation to allow for more dynamic exchange and evolution. Watch the factions of the Cartel play the game of thrones for the Grandmaster's throne!

New Lore – We've expanded and updated our lore to reference our changing story! This includes the Goshawk delivery and much more!

Member Assignments – Members can now create their own assignments for others to join in and have fun in!

Coming in the Future!

Here our some things you can expect to see in the future!

Greater IC Presence – The Cartel is planning on launching a new location to increase community interaction. More on this in the future!